Board of Supervisors Tues Mtg 10-06-26 · Presentation of the Lake County Energy Strategy

The Lake County Board of Supervisors discussed a draft county energy strategy on October 6, 2026, presented by Deputy County Administrative Officer Ben Rickleman. The strategy is an interim work plan while the county considers a longer-term energy element for its general plan. Discussion covered county limits on owning or reselling power, geothermal and other energy development, project permitting, community benefits, water and environmental impacts, and concerns about energy costs and local safeguards. Staff said the county’s only active energy permit application is for the Morgan Valley wind project; other developers have made inquiries or conducted work outside the county permitting process.

Procurement and spending-related discussion focused on preparing county processes and resources for potential projects. Supervisors emphasized moving quickly on proposed ordinance and fee-schedule updates, including cost recovery and road-impact protections, and proceeding with an RFP for the general-plan energy element; no new contract award or spending authorization was made at this meeting. Staff noted that some preparatory work may require contracted support, while a programmatic environmental impact report would be a longer-term effort requiring outside funding. The presenter cited a roughly $307 million public valuation of PG&E’s Lake County assets and a $5 million state appropriation to Imperial County for energy-development environmental planning as examples, not Lake County funding decisions. No formal vote was identified; the discussion reinforced moving forward with the preparatory instruments and the RFP.